Law: Federal Public Service Commission Ordinance, 1977

Section: 7(3)(a), 7(3)(b), 7(3)(d)

Law: CSS Competitive Examination Rules, 2019

Section: 11, 17

Law: Constitution of Pakistan 1973

Section: 199

Case Summary The petitioner assailed the rejection of her candidature for the CSS Competitive Examination-2024 by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC). Despite passing both the MCQ-based preliminary test and the written examination, the FPSC rejected her application under Rule 11(4) of the CSS Competitive Examination Rules, 2019, on the ground of non-submission of her self-domicile certificate by the prescribed cut-off date. The petitioner maintained that she had submitted the hard copy of her documents, including a token for the domicile issued prior to the deadline. Following the dismissal of her departmental representation, the petitioner invoked the constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court. The High Court dismissed the writ petition as non-maintainable. The Court observed that the Federal Public Service Commission Ordinance, 1977, establishes a specific statutory hierarchy for grievances: a representation to the Commission, followed by a review petition, and finally a statutory appeal to the High Court. Because the petitioner bypassed the mandatory review stage provided by the special law, the Court held that constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199 cannot be invoked when an adequate and functional alternate remedy exists. Tagline: Constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 199 cannot be invoked to bypass the statutory remedies of review and appeal specifically provided under the FPSC Ordinance, 1977. ORDER; Through the instant writ petition, the petitioner has assailed the memorandums dated 29.04.2025 and 27.06.2025, passed by the respondent/Federal Public Service Commission, whereby her candidature for CSS Competitive Examination-2024 (“CSS-2024”) and the representation were rejected, respectively. The facts, in brief, are that the petitioner applied online for the CSS 2024 (MCQ Based Preliminary Test) on 04.09.2023, for which the respondent issued an online Admission Certificate for MCQ Entry Test to be held on 19.11.2023, which she passed. Subsequently, on 24.12.2023, the respondent published a Public Notice outlining eligibility criteria and application procedure for the CSS 2024 written examination, with…